Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger has penned an open letter to his nation's supporters following their 2-0 defeat to France in the semi-finals of Euro 2016 on Thursday night.
A brace from Antoine Griezmann saw Les Bleus book their spot in the final and send world champions Germany packing in the last-four stage of the competition.
Schweinsteiger, who returned to the XI due to an injury to Sami Khedira, has apologised to the Germany supporters following the defeat, in addition to paying tribute to hosts France.
"Dear Fans. It's a real shame. Our dream has not been fulfilled. We didn't make it to the final, so Rio will not be followed by another magical night. Unfortunately, we were missing something extremely important against France: a little bit of luck. Defeats are a part of the game though, even if they hurt. We can accept our opponent's performance and sincerely and warmly congratulate the French team on progressing to the final," read the letter, published on Germany's official website.
"I am proud of what we have achieved. We have stayed true to playing our style of football. We have continued to grow as a team in the last seven weeks and this togetherness, which made us strong in Brazil two years ago, has done the same again here in France. We are a team, we are Die Mannschaft.
"Our fans are also a part of it. Wherever we were, Lille, St. Denis, Paris, Bordeaux or Marseille – thanks to you we had our twelfth man by our side. Your enthusiasm was clear to hear and see in the stadiums. We also felt the support of all the people in Germany. At this point, we would like the say THANK YOU to all the fans.
"We would also like to thank the hosts, France and the French people. We have felt happy, safe and fully welcome from the first day. We had the best possible conditions in Evian. We were able to concentrate and train intensely as well as relax in peace and recover where we were staying. France have been amazing hosts for the European Championship. I would like to take my hat off to France on behalf of the team."
Schweinsteiger will now take a break from football before returning to pre-season training with club side Manchester United later this month.
Matt Law
